For a Reason
by RaeBeth13
Summary: A worrying phone call and Oliver's disappearance forces Dig and Felicity to be concerned about his state of mind after the nights events. Warning: This is a continuation of Sacrifice (Season 1, Episode 23) and contains spoilers for anyone who hasn't seen the finale.
1. Chapter 1

**Chapter 1**

The dust was thick and choking. Invisible in the darkness until the lights that shone down, from the choppers overhead, pierced through the destruction. Oliver knew he shouldn't still be in the broken surroundings but to abandon Tommy's side seemed incomprehensible, even when he knew there was nothing he could do for his best friend now. His instincts told him to go but his heart knew he wasn't ready.

So what? So what if he was found by someone searching through the ruins? So what if they found out his secret? Did it matter now? He had come back to right his father's wrongs and in his mind he had failed. Though only half the Glades had crumbled he still hadn't achieved what he'd unknowingly spent five years fighting to stop.

His last words to Tommy resinated in his mind. He truly believed it should have been him. He was damaged beyond repair. How could he have even entertained the idea of giving this life up to live a normal life by Laurel's side? Though the Hood might not have been his future it was too much of his past. There would never be any escaping the things he'd done. With that in his mind the irony stabbed at him again. Tommy had everything to give and everything to live for. He could have offered Laurel a perfect life and now he was gone.

He slumped back down onto the floor, staring at his best friends lifeless body as jagged chunks of concrete continued to fall around them. Perhaps if he stayed here long enough the building would take him too.

His cell phone chimed suddenly, snapping out of his trance. He looked around for a moment as he struggled to identify both the noise and its location before reaching it out of the inside of his jacket. His eyes glistened with tears as he looked back at Tommy's face while he accepted the call and raised it slowly to his ear.

"Oliver?" Dig's voice said cautiously. "You there?"

His body started to shake as he allowed his mind to fully accept the reality of the situation and the environment he was in. He struggled to answer, his mouth moving softly but the words unable to make it out.

"Oliver? Are you okay?" Dig continued, his tone rising into a level concern.

"Yeah…" he whispered.

"Where are you? Did you get to Laurel in time?"

Oliver shook his head gently as the tears stubbornly welled in his eyes. "No… but she's safe."

Dig sighed with relief as he squeezed his eyes closed.

"Are you okay?" Oliver asked softly, still fixated on his best friends face.

"Yeah… I stayed with Merlyn until the cops got here… EMT's cleaned me up… I'm going to the club to get Felicity… I'll take her back to your house… we'll meet you there."

Oliver's attention was drawn to a wall in front of him which was crumbling away slowly. He could see it was a supporting wall and a beam teetered precariously on it. If that came down it would almost certainly cause the building to disintegrate and right now, he was counting on it.

Dig frowned by the lack of response. "Oliver? Where are you?"

A large chunk of the façade fell in behind him causing a loud bang to echo through the phone, Oliver refrained from any kind of reaction, remaining motionless as he watched, willed, this supporting wall and beam to fall.

"Are you trapped?" Dig hissed urgently. "Alright… Oliver… listen to me… tell me where you are and I'll be right there…"

"Just get Felicity… make sure she's safe." Oliver replied softly. "Don't worry about me… I'm fine." He smiled softly, suddenly he felt at peace. "I'm going to be fine…" he whispered.

Dig's eyes widened as he stopped in his tracks. He could hear it in Oliver's voice, the calmness, and he knew that, for a man as tormented and damaged like him, it would only be for one reason. "Oliver… don't do this… don't give in like this… not now."

Oliver winced with sadness.

"If it weren't for you the entire neighbourhood would be dust right now… you did everything you could… you saved thousands of lives." Diggle reasoned.

"And it wasn't enough…" he answered bitterly.

"Without you, none of them would have had a chance."

"It's over John…" Oliver whispered.

"That's just it, I don't think it is…" Dig replied angrily before reigning in his emotions. "When the cops came to get Merlyn he made it out that he was just in charge of this operation… that levelling the Glades was just a piece of a jig saw puzzle, one of many in a much bigger operation."

"He's looking at the Death Penalty… he's stalling… grasping at straws."

"And if it were just his word I'd be inclined to agree… but Felicity thought she had found some information that backed that up. A money trail amongst other things…"

Oliver's eyes drifted down from his fixation on the wall. Could he really dismiss this revelation?

"Oliver… there is a chance that this doesn't stop with Merlyn… and that whoever is in control is planning on something much bigger. This person needs to be accountable for what's happened here tonight and needs to be stopped. I can think of no one better to do that than you."

He closed his eyes and squeezed the tears down his cheeks.

"If nothing else… take a moment to think of Thea… she's lost your father, she's going to have to process everything that's happened with your mom… do you honestly believe she would get through this without you?" He paused as he listened to the silence. "Oliver… please… I'm begging you man…" he continued before the line clicked and silence followed. "Oliver?" he called as he checked the screen which said the call had ended. "Son of a bitch..." He growled.

Laurel sat motionless at her father's desk as a police officer handed her a mug of coffee.

"Thank you…" she whispered, her eyes red raw and glazed with tears.

Lance slowly negotiated the desks in between the door and his daughter. "How you holding up?"

She sighed, her hands shaking as she clutched the mug. Unable to offer any kind of response.

Lance sat down in front of her and leant against his knees. "Laurel… they found Tommy in the rubble…" he whispered.

She looked to him, her eyes filled with hope but his expression only confirmed her fears.

"The first responders said he probably became trapped after he got separated from you… and if he was alive then he couldn't have survived when the building came down soon after we left." he said softly.

Laurel closed her eyes. "So he died saving me… alone." She winced with sadness. "I shouldn't have left him… I should have stayed with him." She whispered.

"Laurel. This is not your fault… the only person responsible for this, for Tommy's death, is his father."

"Detective Lance…" A uniformed police officer said as he approached the pair.

Lance looked up and nodded, following the man to the side of the room as he listened to what he had to say. He nodded and turned, walking back over to his shell shocked daughter. "I just got word from the squad car I sent over to the Verdant… looks like there's only been minor damage over that side of town and the building is locked up…"

"I've been calling Ollie's cell… he's not picking up."

"Look, if he was in the Glades then he would have only been at the club… and if he's in the club there wouldn't be any cause for concern." Lance replied.

"I tried the house… he's not there either." She continued softly.

"Yeah, well… given what his mother has done… he's probably found his rock to crawl back under."

Laurel glared at her father.

"Too soon?" Lance nodded.

"I need to go home… maybe he's there." She said as she rested the mug down on the desk.

"Honey, you can't… your apartment block is inside the destruction footprint… it needs to be assessed before you can get back there… that could take a couple of days."

"Fine… then I'll go to the Queen's…"

Lance frowned. "Why do you want to see Oliver so much?"

Laurel's eyes flickered with pain. "His best friend is dead… and he died saving me. I should be the one to tell him."

Lance sighed and nodded. "I'll get someone to drive you over there…" he whispered.

"Wow…" Felicity said with wide eyes as she clutched her tablet and walked through the door of the Queen home. "Just… wow…"

Dig pulled his cell phone out of his pocket and checked the screen.

"Alright… what's going on?" Felicity asked.

"What do you mean?" Dig shrugged, desperate to act normal.

"You've been sending out stressed vibes ever since you picked me up… you said Oliver would be here, and I'm guessing he's not… give it up Dig… what's going on?"

Dig sighed as he leant against the wood panelling of the room. "It's probably nothing to worry about." He nodded.

Felicity held her ground and her stern look.

He knew there was no getting out of some kind of explanation. "When Oliver left me on the rooftop to find Laurel… he was injured…"

"Injured how?" She stepped closer and frowned.

Dig hesitated for a moment. "Merlyn had him in a choke hold… the only way he could get the guy to release was to stab him with an arrow…"

Felicity raised her eyebrows and shrugged, she couldn't see the problem.

"And the only way he could physically do that was to send the arrow through his own shoulder and in to Merlyn."

"Oh my god…" Felicity winced with shock. "And you let him go?"

"You really don't understand what it takes to stop Oliver, do you?" he replied. "Laurel was in danger. One of us had to stay with Merlyn until he was in custody…"

"How bad was the wound?"

"I don't think he was bleeding too bad… but I also don't believe he'll be getting it looked at. The only two people he will let patch him up are standing right here… so…"

"Then we should be looking for him." She nodded as she stepped over to the door and waited for Dig to follow. He remained frozen. Felicity glared at the man, her eyes thinning with suspicion. "That's not all of it though, is it?"

Dig cleared his throat and struggled with the idea of telling her everything. He knew that Oliver had brought Felicity in to be a part of the team, but he also knew there were some emotions that he sheltered her from. He sighed. "I don't know if Oliver is coming back."

"Coming back? As in tonight?"

He thinned his lips and turned away. "As in ever."

She frowned as she looked around the room. "What do you mean ever?"

He paused before turning back to her. "I mean the last time I spoke to him…" he stopped. "He was pretty messed up…" he continued with trepidation. "He said some things that gave me reason to be worried. Like he was going to do something crazy."

"Crazier than stabbing himself with an arrow?"

"As hard as it might be to believe… yes." Dig nodded.

"Then we really need to go out to look for him." Felicity insisted as she opened the door, only to be met by Laurel who was standing on the porch.

Laurel glared back at the young woman, slightly confused as to why she was standing in Oliver's house.

"Laurel… Laurel Lance…" Felicity stumbled.

Laurel offered a weak smile. "I was looking for Oliver…" she continued, trying in vain to quell the brimming emotions that threatened to explode within her. "Is he here?"

"Ummmmm…" Felicity's eyes widened as she hoped the ground would just open up and swallow her. How could she answer this right now?

"Hey Laurel…" Dig said as he opened up the door even more and offered for her to come in. "No, Oliver's not come home yet."

"Do you know where he is?" Laurel asked urgently. "I really need to talk to him."

"No, but I spoke to him a couple of hours ago… he said he'd be home soon."

Felicity nodded. "Home soon… that's exactly what he said…" she fumbled to back him up.

Laurel glanced back at Felicity and could see that the pair was somewhat nervous. "I need to wait for him here… if that's okay with you."

"Of course…" Dig answered as he watched her disappear into the one of the rooms. "If Oliver doesn't want to be found then going out right now, in that chaos, is not only dangerous but a waste of time." Diggle whispered as he neared Felicity.

"So what you're saying is we just do nothing… and hope for what?" Felicity replied.

Dig sighed as his eyes softened. "We hope that he listened to the voice of reason..."

Thea checked her cell phone again, there had been no more messages since Roy an hour ago when Roy texted her to meet him outside the Verdant. She'd been here for forty five minutes now, sitting nervously in the 4WD that Roy had 'acquired' during the confusion and there was still no sign of him. She looked back to the locked doors to the club and wished Oliver would walk out of them, this was no place for her to be on her own.

She looked back at her cell phone, only now did she notice that reception was down. Now suddenly she felt even more vulnerable. With that thought she was instantly startled by a thud on the window next to her, a man glared through the glass back at her. She cried out with fright before he raised his closed fist, bringing it back past his shoulder and then smashing it through the glass.

Thea screamed as the man opened the door and grabbed her by the hair, dragging her out onto the curb. "Stop! Please… take my money… take the car… whatever… just please…"

The man ignored her pleas and pushed her down on the sidewalk, stepping over her and looking down.

"Please…" she said as she stared at him. "Take whatever you want, just leave me alone."

He grinned as he leant down to pick her up but as he did he was pushed from behind causing him to tumble to the floor to the side of her. Thea looked up to see Roy standing above her. "Thea get up." He growled urgently as the man pushed himself to his feet and swung for Roy.

The two engaged in a fight, whilst the man had the weight behind him, Roy had his experience in martial arts and his agility in his favour. Thea backed up against a wall as she watched the two trade punches. It was one lucky move that saw the man get the upper hand and Roy landing heavily on his back.

"Roy!" Thea called out as the man pinned him down with his weight and raised his fist up again to deal, what was sure to be, the final blow. Suddenly the man tensed, arching his back and pushing out his chest before falling back. An arrow protruding from his chest.

Roy jumped to his feet, turning to the darkness as he grabbed hold of Thea. They struggled to focus on the shadows from where the arrow was fired.

"It's him…" Roy nodded as he stepped forward.

"Roy… we need to get out of here… we need to go…" Thea insisted as she pushed him to the car.


	2. Chapter 2

Chapter 2

Thea gazed out of the large windows of her bedroom and out over the grounds as the sun rose. It seemed incomprehensible that anything had happened in the city. There was nothing, physically around her, indicated there was anything wrong, the sky was clear, the birds were out and the air seemed crisp and clean. But even this couldn't deter her from the reality, being acutely aware that beyond the Queen property there was such destruction and chaos. She'd seen it with her own eyes but the burn of her mother's involvement was what consumed her thoughts the most.

Her attention was jolted towards her cell phone as it shuddered across her desk as if right on cue. It was simply another of a constant string of phone calls from one number that she had spent a good chunk of the night ignoring. She winced bitterly toward the phone, her expression filled with disgust and anger.

Roy appeared in the doorway, he offered her a gently smile, one that she reciprocated.

"Hey…" he whispered.

Her smile widened but still soft, it was as if he seemed to rid her of all negativity, even just for a moment.

"So… that room you got me sleeping in… you know it's bigger than my house, right?" He quipped carefully. "And don't worry… I left everything in there."

Thea laughed softly but the sickening feelings only seemed to envelope her again. Her smile faded.

"Thea… I'm sorry about your friend…" he said softly as he approached her.

Her eyes fluttered, desperately trying to keep the tears at bay as she wrapped her arms around her chest. "I just can't believe this is happening…" she shook her head, her voice breaking with sadness. She paused. "Before Dad and Ollie…" her voice faded, before Dad and Ollie what? Went missing? Had the accident? Murdered? She gathered her thoughts together again and gently perched herself on a chair. "I'd never lost anyone close to me… and when they went… Tommy helped me through the grieving… he'd lost his mom… he knew the score… he said all the right things even though I know his heart was breaking too." She shook her head. "I couldn't have made it through that time without him… and now I have Oliver back but… it feels like I lost a brother all over again."

Roy nodded, thinning his lips with sympathy.

"I don't know how Oliver is going to take this… It's going to cut him up." She continued.

"Have you heard from your brother?" he asked cautiously.

"No…" she shook her head. "I've been trying to call him most of the night but his cell's switched off… which makes me wonder if he already knows about Tommy." Her cell buzzed, indicating there was a text, she walked over, picking it up from the desk and reading the message before gritting her teeth.

"What is it?" Roy frowned.

She sighed as she grabbed her jacket from the back of her desk chair and scooped up her purse. "I have to go out… wait here for me?"

"You don't want me to come with you?"

"No…" she replied softly. "It's something I need to deal with by myself…" she nodded as she kissed him gently on the cheek. "I'll be back in a couple of hours."

"Thea…" Roy called, his voice sounding a concerned inflection, as she headed for the door.

"I'll be fine…" she nodded encouragingly before disappearing.

"Okay, thank you." Laurel nodded sombrely before hanging up on a call. "That's the last person I can think of calling…" she shrugged.

"He'll turn up." Dig nodded confidently.

Felicity straightened as she saw the television flash up with Merlyn's face. She lunged forward, sweeping up the control in her hand and adjusting the sound.

[Reporter: Reports say that it was the Vigilante, known as 'The Hood', apprehended Malcolm Merlyn on the rooftop of the Merlyn Global building. Merlyn was seriously injured in a confrontation with the vigilante, his condition is unknown but sources say he is under heavy police guard at Starling City General. Eye witnesses have reported that 'The Hood' was last seen heading towards the destruction after the initial shock but has not been seen since."]

"That's not true… We saw him…" Roy announced as he stood in the doorway.

Felicity and Dig glanced at each other before looking to Roy.

"When?" Felicity asked.

He straightened himself nervously as tensioned fill the room. "I mean we… we didn't actually lay eyes on him, but, this guy who tried to attack Thea got taken down by an arrow. Right outside the Verdant."

"And you didn't think to mention this before?" Dig said as he walked over to Roy.

Roy frowned with confusion. "Look man, I got a pretty stern warning from Oliver yesterday about putting Thea in dangerous situations… it just so happened we were in one of those situations outside the club. It doesn't take much to work out he doesn't like me, she was worried about how he'd react." He shrugged as his brow creased. "Besides, I didn't think it was relevant."

Diggle realised he'd shown his emotions enough to raise questions; he had to think of something fast. "Oliver's my responsibility; I wasn't with him when the device went off. I should have been…" he paused as he glanced at Laurel. That clearly wasn't enough judging by the look she was throwing him. He exhaled a deep breath, clearing his throat. "The vigilante worked out Mrs Queen was involved… he kidnapped them both… knocked Oliver around to force information from her." He paused again. "I'm just worried he might think Oliver had something more to do with this and find him for round two."

"He was targeted by the Hood and you left his side?" Laurel piped up as she pushed herself to her feet.

"I've spent more time chasing Oliver around than looking after him. He only has me around when he wants me around Miss Lance."

She coughed a bitter laugh. "Yeah, sounds like Oliver." She nodded before sighing. "Regardless, I can't just sit here… I need to be out looking for him." She nodded.

"You shouldn't go out alone." Dig shook his head.

"I can go with her…" Roy replied eagerly. "That's if that's okay with you." He asked Laurel.

She nodded with gratitude.

"Alright, well, take my car…" Dig said as he produced his keys in his hand from his pocket.

Laurel stepped over to him and took the keys. "Thank you…" she whispered before the pair disappeared.

Felicity winced with frustration, they'd just been given some good information on where Oliver was last and Dig seemed to ignore it for the sake of keeping up the charade. She jumped to her feet and hurried past him.

Dig frowned. "Where you goin'?"

"You want to have them driving around on some kind of wild goose chase, that's fine… but I'm going back to the club." Felicity replied, her patience clearly worn thin. "We know he went back there at one point, and it makes sense. I just… I just hope he didn't go back there to do anything stupid."

"Look, the fact that he's been seen since I spoke to him is good news… it means something is keeping him going." Dig reasoned with her.

"I can't risk you being right." She growled gently. "Anyway… I don't need your permission to go…"

"No you don't." Dig replied softly.

"John, if he's at the club… and he's alone... with these crazy ideas…" she paused as she looked into his eyes. "I'm not saying that I'm the best person to talk him down… or that I even could… but I know that I wouldn't be able to live with myself if I hadn't tried."

Dig sighed, his eyes floated down. "Then you do what you need to do." He whispered with support before his cell phone suddenly rang. "Hello?" he answered. "Yeah…" he continued, frowning as he concentrated on what the caller had to say. "Okay, thank you… I'm on my way." He nodded then ending the call and pushing the cell back in his pocket.

"Oliver?" Felicity asked impatiently.

"He's at Starling City General…" Dig nodded.

"Is he okay?"

"They wouldn't discuss details over the phone… I was added as his emergency contact after round one with the Archer… they want me to go in."

"Can I come with?" she asked nervously.

He nodded gently. "Let's go…"

Thea stepped into the dimly lit interview room, stopping just past the doorway as the police officer closed the door behind her. Her body language spoke volumes. It was clear she didn't want to be there but the persistent phone calls were just as torturous and she knew there would be no respite. If nothing else her mother was a brilliant business woman who knew how to wear almost anyone down into agreeing to something they didn't necessarily want to do.

Moira sat at a metal table in the centre of the room. Thea couldn't help but note how tired she looked and how she seemed to have aged in just the few hours since her arrest.

The young woman shuffled uncomfortably on her feet, wrapping her arms tightly around her chest as though she was shielding her heart from any more pain. "What do you want mom?" she asked softly, but the resentment in her tone was clear.

"I wanted to explain…" she replied softly, her expression breaking with sorrow.

Thea thinned her lips with amusement and shook her head. "Explain? Explain which part? How you were involved in my father's murder and could have killed my brother? Or how you got involved in levelling the Glades?" she glared at the woman. "You really think I care about anything you have to say right now?"

"Thea… please…" the woman begged. "Please… I know I'm in no position to ask anything of you, but just give me ten minutes… and then you can go…"

The young woman sighed, dropping her arms down to her sides and slowly walked to the vacant chair on the other side of the table, sitting down. She leant back and shrugged. "Ten minutes…" she nodded.

Dig and Felicity hurried along the wide and sterile corridor, still none the wiser as to why Oliver was there. A thousand scenarios had run through their minds on the journey in, a few they thrashed out loud but there were some they couldn't bring themselves to entertain. Dig eventually settled on it being all about the injury to his shoulder. If this was the case he'd forewarned Felicity to be on her toes, to watch her reactions carefully.

It would be obvious his wound was from an arrow, and perhaps this was a convenient set of circumstances that Oliver could again use in his favour. He could explain that the Vigilante was targeting his family because of his mother's involvement in the undertaking, another opportunity to detract any suspicion that he was the Hood.

Felicity trailed Dig slightly, happy to take his lead and unsure of what they were about to walk in to but as they neared the room they noticed Lance at the end by a large window that over looked the city.

"Detective…" Dig frowned, his heart rate accelerating with the sudden rush of nerves that consumed him.

"Mr Diggle…" Lance nodded as he held out his hand to greet him, the gesture was reciprocated. He turned slightly, glancing at Felicity. "Miss Smoak."

"It's good to see you're okay, sir." She nodded, eager to ignore the giant elephant in the room that was the hypocrisy Lance would think of her being there.

Lance nodded toward the narrow window in the door to Oliver's room. "He turned up at the precinct…" Lance started. "The department physician wanted to take a look at him but he was agitated. He wouldn't let anyone go near him."

Dig stepped up to the door and saw Oliver curled up on his side, his eyes open but completely vacant and his complexion pale, highlighting some untreated lacerations on his face.

"Our guy put it down to some kind of psychotic break… the doctor here has pretty much confirmed it. They're trying to work out the next move, but I think they were counting someone close to him getting through before they take any official steps."

"Has he said anything?" Dig asked as his heart sank, not for a moment did he take his eyes off his seemingly broken friend.

"Nothing…" Lance shook his head. "Nothing at all. We got no clue where he was when the device went off and no idea what's slipped him into this state."

Dig sighed with sorrow. "I should call Thea…"

"I'll do it." Felicity nodded as she reached out her cell phone.

"I thought my daughter would be with you?" Lance asked as he scoped the busy corridor behind him.

"She's on her way in." Dig replied.

Lance sighed. "Yeah, well… she's on some mission to tell him about Tommy Merlyn… just make sure she understands now is not the time."

"I didn't know you cared sir." Dig answered dryly, a thin smirk visible as he looked around to Lance.

"What can I say? Seeing him like that… I actually feel for the kid." Lance said through gritted teeth. It pained him to feel any kind of warm emotions towards Oliver but he couldn't seem to help it.

"Detective… a word, sir?" a young officer called as he appeared.

"Excuse me…" Lance nodded before following the young man out of sighed.

"Of course…" Dig whispered as his focus was shifted back onto his friend.

"I called Thea… she's going to be here as soon as she can." Felicity nodded as she pushed her cell phone back into her pocket. "And I think that I should probably leave before someone gets creative with their imagination again and Oliver and I get arrested." She continued nervously as her eyes shifted to the direction Lance had gone.

"What are you talking about?" Dig frowned as he looked at her.

"Dig, the only person he knows is connected to the Hood is me… now I'm here… he's got to be wondering why…" Felicity gushed.

"First of all you work for Queen Consolidated… how would he know how closely you work with Oliver on a professional basis… and if all else fails…" he stopped, grinning.

"If all else fails what?"

You're a young, pretty and blond … trust me, the history he's had with Oliver it wouldn't be hard to steer him to believe it's a more personal relationship."

"Make him believe I'm another one of Oliver's conquests?" She asked with shock.

"Exactly" Dig shrugged with a nod.

"You know what? You just spin the BS and I'll nod… it's just so much easier."

"Felicity, it will be fine. Besides… what Lance believes is the least of our problems right now." Dig whispered as he looked back toward Oliver through the window.

Thea walked back into the interview room having just ended her call with Felicity. Moira could sense something wasn't right. "What is it?"

"Oliver needs me…" she whispered, unwilling to give her much more information. "I have to go…"

"Thea…"

"Mom, please… just give me some space… let me process what you've told me." She paused. "You were right… what you've said has given me a better perspective on why you did this… but… I can't switch my feelings off… I need time."

"Of course." Moira nodded.

"I really need to go…" she replied softly.

Dig cautiously neared his friend's side. The blinds were closed and the only light in the room was the one above Oliver's head, illuminating his empty expression and lifeless eyes. There had been a moment when Dig had contemplated the idea that this was a play, but he just couldn't work out what it would achieve. Now, studying Oliver's face, he couldn't see how anyone could fake the kind of emptiness Oliver displayed.

"Hey…" he whispered, sitting down in the chair to the side of him. There was nothing, not even a flicker or recognition or acknowledgement. "Your sister, she's on her way… and Laurel is too." He paused. "Oliver… I want to help you, but you have to let me in." he pushed.

Oliver's eyes slowly drifted to focus on Dig's face.

Dig smiled, for a moment he thought he'd broken through, but in that instant they were interrupted by the door being opened and Thea appearing.

"Ollie?" she called with concern as she rushed to her brother's side.

Dig's heart sank as he watched Oliver closed his eyes, sealing himself off completely from the world. He sighed as he sank back into the chair.

Felicity removed the cup from the coffee machine and grimaced at the colour and consistency of the liquid, she knew it would be terrible but she needed a caffeine hit and at this point she was beyond caring about the quality. She turned to walk back to the room when Lance appeared in front of her. A sudden rush of anxiousness consumed her, Dig wasn't here and she would now have to field any questions for herself.

"Detective…" she thinned her lips into a forced smile and pushed her glasses up against her face.

"Felicity, isn't it?" Lance asked.

"Yes, sir…" she stuttered.

"Good coffee?" Lance smirked, basking in her uneasiness.

"If you like it with lumps. And not of the sugar variety." She replied.

"I think I'll give it a miss." He nodded. "I was just curious to know if you had spoken to your hooded friend recently?"

"Oh, we're not really friends, per say, more acquaintances." She stumbled.

"But you know who he is… right?" Lance pushed.

Felicity lowered her head, eager to avoid eye contact.

"Look…" Lance sighed. "As hard as this may be to believe, I'm not interested in finding him… or knowing his identity. I'm interested in is keeping this city safe, and it's clear, after last night, he wants the same thing…"

She looked into his eyes, surprised by his revelation.

"I must be certifiable to be saying this... but I'm willing to look the other way as far as the Hood goes, with one condition… he continues to do what's right for this city… and the people in it." He paused. "But if I think, for one moment, he's done something for his personal agenda, or puts a foot out of line, I'll be back on his tail and I will do everything I can to have him sent down." He nodded. "Fair?"

Felicity smiled thinly and nodded. "Sounds fair to me."

"So I trust you can pass on this message?" Lance asked.

"Absolutely." She answered.

"Good…" Lance nodded before turning.

Felicity relaxed her muscles as she exhaled with relief.

"Oh and Felicity…" He called as he turned back around. "You seem like a smart woman… but I'm go ahead and step out of line here… let you know you could do so much better than being one of Queen's groupies. Don't waste your time or your energy."

"I'll keep that in mind, sir… thank you." She nodded as he walked away. "Groupie." She whispered as she shook her head and rolled her eyes. "The crap I get myself in to…"


End file.
